


Lucian Safety Hazards

by AkaraSoma



Category: Final Fantasy X, Final Fantasy XIII, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cousins, F/F, F/M, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016), Magic, Swearing, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 23:09:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19733575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkaraSoma/pseuds/AkaraSoma
Summary: After having heart attacks everytime one of the Chocobros stands up in the car or just does something stupid in game, I've decided to make a  self insert fic where the OC is just trying to keep these guys alive with minimal bloodshed as possible.Can't decide on an actual romantic pairing, so we'll see if it goes OT4 (Noctis is the OCs cousin so that is a familial ship).





	1. Dressed in Drag

**Author's Note:**

  * For [blindedstarlight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blindedstarlight/gifts).



“Lemme get this shot!” Prompto leaned dangerously between the front seats of the Regalia to snap a few photos of Noctis while he sat on the trunk of the car, foot up on the door and one on the back seat.

Anatolia, or Ana, held her younger cousin’s calf in a white knuckle grip and had the other hand fisted in Prompto’s shirt as the blond took his photos. Squished between Noctis and Gladio in the back seat, the twenty-five year old was the oldest in the retinue and, according to her, the only one besides Ignis with any sense of self-preservation.

Gladio chuckled as he gave the woman side eye while reading his book. “Careful, Ana. You’re gonna blow a blood vessel.”

“Shut your fuck up, Gladio. You’re a shitty Shield for encouraging this behavior!” she hissed back, waving off Prompto when he went to show her the photos. He shrugged it off and sat (mostly) normal in his seat, still turned slightly to see the back seat – she’d look at them when they got to a caravan or haven. “For all those books you read, you’d think you read at least one on vehicle safety.”

“Jokes on you, Glaive. I don’t have my license,” he rumbled back, turning a page. Ironically, it was a book he borrowed from Anatolia on the Summoning Rituals of the ancient continent of Spira.

“I must agree with Ana. While I trust myself on the road, one cannot account for wildlife or other drivers’ actions,” Ignis drawled, turning on his blinker and pulling smoothly into a turn. “All it takes is a split second for things to go drastically astray.”

“Ah, you two worry too much!”

Ana gave Noctis a bland look as he leaned back on his hands, crossing her arms the best she could with his calf in the crook of her elbow. She pointed at a scar on the right side of her mouth, just a thin white line that went through both lips and about two centimeters down her chin. “Which one of us has been in an accident, Noct?”

“Hey, that was different! You were driving that Eidolon Motorcycle at night and ran into a Red Giant!” Noctis slid down in his seat, pouting. “That was just a coincidence, anyway.”

“I was doing recon on a Nif base – you know, my **job**?” Ana pinched Noct’s cheek hard until he smacked her hand away, leaving it bright red. “The Shiva Twins were still totaled and out of commission for months while they healed. They aren’t meant to disassemble after having taken heavy damage while combined, but they did to fight with me.”

“I still need to get a pic of you with your Summons, Bee-Tee-Dubs,” Prompto chirped from the front. “Never seen you Summon an Eidolon before, either.”

“Of the four of us, none have had that honor sans Noct. King Regis has had her finding the lost Cloister Trials and Crystals for the Eidolons ever since she got her last promotion in the Kingsglaive – Oh, thank you, my dear.” Ignis took a sip of the Ebony Ana handed up to him. “Then she received the promotion to Crownsguard when she graduated high school.”

“You mean Royal Babysitter. Here, Prom.” The blond smiled with a small blush when Ana handed him his drink. “Still gotta follow His Royal Narcoleptic Ass around with a cushion.”

“That was one time and I was up until four in the morning finishing a class project!”

“You stayed up till three to play Assassin’s Creed Syndicate and then rushed through making a half assed shoebox diorama of Bahamut’s Fayth and Cloister of Trials for Cosmology,” she deadpanned. “I got you cubic zirconia crystals and even the photos I took with my Lokton and you STILL used pasta and glitter!”

Gladio snorted as Noct slouched further down in his seat, cheeks still comically different in their shades of red despite his blush. Prompto giggled and snapped a photo of the Prince and Duchess while Ignis smirked into his Ebony. The five settled into silence as they drove along the countryside, each in their own little world.

Anatolia grabbed Gladio’s free arm and put it over her shoulder so she could read the book she’d lent him. He was on the journal that was written by one of the first High Priests of the Infernian on his pilgrimage around Spira to defeat Sin – one of her favorite passages to read. Noctis made a face when Gladio moved his hand to Ana’s waist and they settled into each other, Ana bringing her legs up to curl up in the seat and digging her shoeless feet under Noct’s thigh.

Despite training in what was _barely_ considered decent a majority of the time, Ana didn’t like to be touched by just anyone, let alone skin on skin contact. She had to trust them and that list of people was down to three of the four men in the Regalia. Prompto still jumped when she held him too close, so Ana was taking the slow approach assuming he was kind of touch starved.

Noctis had adopted the habit even before the accident that killed their mothers and it only got worse after.

Ever since realizing that she was on that level with the Ignis and Gladio, at least, Noctis had been acting like a grade schooler afraid of getting cooties and it didn’t help that she’d make sure he was as uncomfortable as possible about it without making her Cuddle Buddy uncomfortable.

She might be the eldest, but Ana could still be a little shit when she wanted. This was proven when he gave her another dirty look and they both stuck their tongues out at each other, Ana wagging her pierced tongue at him before resettling against the Shield.

“Keep it up, Highness, and your face will freeze that way,” Ignis said with a smirk, a few shutter clicks going off from the passenger seat, raising an eyebrow at the random flash that went off from the camera.

“I think it’d be an improvement, don’t you?” Prompto showed the display to the two cuddlers with a giggle.

They both burst into body shaking laughter and loud snorts as their eyes landed on the photo. Ignis pulled over to take a look and couldn’t stifle the outright laughter before he covered his face with his hands, fumbling to throw the Regalia into park as he lost his composure. Prompto himself was to the point of giggle-snorts by then, just trying to take a breath in that he didn’t choke on, and Noctis took his opportunity to grab the Lokton to look for himself, face heating up all over again.

Noct’s face was a close up and almost a perfect copy of Emperor Kuzco’s as Pacha ordered them food in _The Emperor’s New Groove_ , which they had watched on a tablet the night before at the Caravan in Hammerhead. Top lip cocked up on the left side baring some teeth looking like it was mid twitch, nose wrinkled and nostrils flared, eyes narrowed and his tongue only about an inch out of his mouth. The cherry on the sundae was that the flash had washed his skin out and his pupils were bright red against his white skin.

A laugh burst through his lips before he could even think of hiding it. Noctis’ laugh echoed off the nearby cliff walls as the Lokton was tossed back at Prompto, who barely caught it.

“You **BLEPPED**!” the wine haired woman gasped out, face half buried between Prompto’s arm and the back of the passenger seat as she sank to the floor of the Regalia. “The King of Lucis fucking bleps!”

“It a-appears to be m-more of a mlem, to me-e.” Ignis had thrown his fogged up glasses onto the dash, wiping tears from his face while his body shook with chuckles. The refined Tactician knowing the difference between a blep and mlem set the whole car off again.

Ana and Prompto were squeaking between giggles as they tried to catch their breath, Gladio was just a shaking mess of hard snorts as he held his stomach with his head thrown back in a roar of laughter. They were stuck on the side of the road for a good thirty minutes before Ignis trusted himself enough to drive straight. Aside from a few stray giggles every now and then, they were all just red faced and out of breath for the rest of the ride to Hammerhead.

Throwing herself over Gladio to hang on the car door, Ana whistled to get the attention of the familiar curvy blonde exiting the garage as Ignis pulled the Regalia up to the pumps.

“Cindy, my love~! Oh, tis been so long since I have been blessed by thine fair visage!”

Gladio shook his head while making sure the self-proclaimed safety expert didn’t topple out of the car. Ana draped herself over his shoulder to reach longingly towards Cindy, making her giggle at the Duchess’ theatrics.

“Well, howdy, Red, boys! Welcome back!” Cindy pulled off her gloves and stuffed them into her back pocket. “Find ya target alrigh’?”

Ana vaulted over the back of the Regalia with Prompto’s camera, not even waiting for her cousin or his Shield to exit like a civilized person, while the men went about securing Curatives, the Caravan, and refueling. Gladio patted Noctis’ back when his cousin’s cackle echoed from the garage along with Cid’s hacking laugh and Cindy’s obnoxious giggles.

“Never gonna live it down, am I?”

“Considering Prompto uploaded it to his Instagram with the caption of ‘#RoyalBlep or #RoyalMlem,’ probably not.” Gladio smirked as he watched Prompto get out of the car and practically skip over to where the women were going through his other shots. “Think we might need to Phoenix Down on our Chocobo in a minute.”

Ana had thrown an arm around the gunslinger’s waist and pulled him between her and Cindy, handing him his camera. Prompto’s face was redder than a Lucian Tomato as he explained a few of the shots to them, including a few of them all in combat. Both women were leaning close against his arms, Ana being closer since she had her arm around him, but Cindy’s rather _revealing_ outfit was definitely a contributing factor.

“It’s like she’s made it her sworn duty to give us all heart attacks.”

“She just enjoys a bit of…chaos… added to our somewhat predictable lifestyle, that’s all,” Ignis said, setting the table with their order from the diner. “Most of our troubles are commonplace to someone who’s been a Glaive for near a decade.”

Gladio scoffed as the three of them sat down. “Easy for you to say, Iggy. She doesn’t go outta her way to harass you like she does Noct.”

“She does her own brand of wickedness when she helps me with meals, Gladio. In Noct’s case, I wouldn’t call it harassment, per say.”

“Oh?” Noctis cocked an eyebrow at Ignis from his place parallel to him, leaning back on two chair legs and putting his feet on the table. “And what would you call it?”

“Accelerated Darwinism,” he deadpanned, tsking at the boots on the plastic tabletop that he’d just wiped down.

“The Hell’s that mean, Specs?” Ignis sipped his drink, viridian eyes looking slightly to the left and beyond the King’s shoulder before shrugging. Noct threw his hands up before watching Gladio’s eyes widen and looking the same direction Ignis had. “What are you two looking at-”

“SIX LEGS ON THE GROUND OR NONE!”

Noctis heard the crack and felt the chair collapse a split second before he suddenly plummeted backwards, that horrible anxiety you get when your chair tips _just_ too far back blooming in his stomach before the air was knocked out of him as his back slammed into the asphalt.

Thankfully, his childhood back injury didn’t decide to flare up like it did in Galdin when he’d gotten a massage, but that didn’t mean that his pride hadn’t just been stomped by a Behemoth. Hissing and rolling to his side, he became aware of the collective laughter of the group plus Cindy and Cid. Cracking open his eyes, he saw the familiar combat boots of his cousin and followed them up to her smirking face. Ana’s hair made a curtain around her face as she leaned down and flicked his forehead.

“Did you really just bust one of their chairs to teach me a lesson about safety?” She shrugged and untangled him from the chair, just pushing him around with her feet, and taking it towards the dumpster. “Ugh, you’re such a bitch.”

“Constant vigilance, Pookie~” Ana cooed while sitting down between Ignis and Prompto.

“That chair’s been cracking for a while, now. Been meanin’ ta toss it, but I’ve been swamped in the garage so I just plumb forgot!”

Noctis pulled up one of the apparently newer chairs and Gladio patted the dust off his back. Ana didn’t even spare him a glance as she nibbled on her fries and checked her social media. Just a normal dinner with his family, really.

The next morning, the quintet was on their way to Lestallum to pick up ingredients for Taka. Anatolia and Noctis had fallen right back asleep as soon as they got comfortable. Ana had stolen one of Gladio’s hoodies and was curled up in it, almost invisible sans the long tan legs and the auburn hair peaking from the bottom hem and under the hood, respectfully. Gladio shook his head at them and pulled out the same book from yesterday.

“Hard to believe she’s a Glaive with how deep she sleeps.” To prove his point, a rather large bump barely stirred either of the Royals. Ana just snuggled further into Noctis’ side and he put his arm over her shoulder, neither one seeming to be conscious during the adjustments.

“Unless we’re at a Haven or in the Regalia, she doesn’t truly sleep, Gladio.” At the silence, Ignis glanced quickly at Prompto and Gladio, seeing twin expressions of slight confusion. “She doesn’t enter REM sleep. She usually just meditates.”

“Whoa, what? Why?” Prompto looked back at the two royals, noticing how Ana’s eyes were doing just that now as they drove. “Is she scared of the dark or something?”

“In simplest terms, yes.”

“Iggy, that doesn’t make sense. She takes night hunts with us all the time! Her night vision is probably better than any of ours.”

Ignis sighed and shook his head. “Think for a moment you two. She’s spent weeks either alone or with a platoon smaller than our own numbers, sleeping in Havens – if they are lucky – or having to camp with the only protection being themselves. Behind enemy lines, no less. I’m surprised she can sleep at all with how close we are to the old base in Hammerhead.”

“Wait, I thought the Kingsglaive could, like, make Havens when they’re out in the field,” Prompto said, face paling further when Ignis shook his head again.

“That’s old Magic put forth by the Kings and Queens of old. The only protection they have out there is themselves; the term Haven is just a code they use so the remaining forces know where they can find relative safety.”

The two men looked at the shortest member of the Retinue with a bit more respect than they had that morning. “So, even with the lights in the Outposts and cities…”

“She does not rest.” Glancing in the rearview mirror to them, Ignis sighed sadly. “I wouldn’t either, given what she’s seen. She knows more than most why we should fear both the Dark and the Light.”

Prompto snapped a quick shot of the two dozing before turning back around – with their Resting Bitch Faces, it was too cute not to. The ride had a more somber feel to it now that the reason for Ana’s unusual sleep schedule was brought to light. It was a stark reminder that she was a Soldier, a veteran, of a war that started long before any of them were born. She’d spent nine years defending Lucis from the Empire while they’d been merely training for theoretical situations.

The King sending her with them made more and more sense the longer they were on this odd excuse of a road trip.

Neither Caelum woke up until they arrived, both almost face planting on the pavement as they got out of the Regalia. Ana squinted up at the sun for a moment before struggling out of the massive hoodie that reached her knees and threw it into the back seat like it had offended her. She wore a black sports bra that was basically open back with a bunch of straps, black jean shorts that were covered in distressed rips, beat up combat boots that were probably from her time as a Kingsglaive, and a red leather thigh holster that acted as a belt.

Noctis did a double take, forgetting about the huge tattoo of the Kingsglaive insignia on her back for a minute in his sleepy haze. He didn’t miss his friend openly stare at her, though, and he smacked Prompto in the stomach. The blond yelped and held his stomach, face red and mouthing “sorry” as Ana put her hair up in a messy bun and started off towards the market to speak with the supplier.

“Y’all _nasty_ ,” Noctis hissed before following her, giving him a dirty look.

“Nothing we haven’t seen before,” Ignis said as he adjusted his gloves. The Tactician didn’t spare Prom a glance as he made his way after the other two.

“If you wanna catch a glimpse, just spar with her.”

The Sharpshooter whined. “Gladio, can you not!”

“I’m just sayin’, pipsqueak. She wears less than that when she trains.” The mountain of a man leaned down to whisper, “Ana likes to train in those black jersey shorts she wears to bed – you know, the ones that give you _just_ a peak of those perfect ass cheeks and barely cover enough to be decent?”

“Do refrain from giving him, or the rest of us, any ungentlemanly ideas, Gladiolus,” Ignis chided from several strides ahead of them, exasperated. Prompto barely had his blush under control when they caught up with the cousins.

Ana was nibbling on a few samples of the grocer’s vegetables while Noct was getting the information on where to find the apparently lost shipment. When they got close enough, she held a sweet pea pod up to Ignis’ mouth, which he bit into without prompting. He made an approving noise in his throat, leaning over her shoulder to see what other organic goodies she had in her hands while Prompto just looked on in slack jawed awe.

“They do that all the time, blondie. Breathe.”

“Iggy doesn’t take food from any of us – EVEN IF IT’S ON A CLEAN FORK!”

“The three of us basically grew up together, used to spend a lot of time in the kitchens with each other, those two doing most of the cooking. Well… Ana did most of the baking until I dared her to try baking with a Firaga spell… She was still doing deliveries for the kitchen staff right up until we left for Altissa.” Gladio rubbed the back of his neck with an embarrassed smile. He glanced at Prompto after a beat of silence to see his face aghast. “What? No one got hurt! She cast a Reflega before! They even got a cool new remodel and a name – Hell’s Kitchen!”

Prompto just shook his head and joined Ignis and Ana, standing on her side opposite Ignis to join in their grazing sampling.

Sometimes he couldn’t believe the shenanigans, for lack of a better term, that the three older members of their travel party had gotten into. Noctis had told him of a few, but he always took it with a grain of salt until this trip. Hell’s Kitchen was a new one and made him question if the others were true.

“So, uh… Gladio just told me about Hell’s Kitchen.” The two next to him groaned and gave synchronized eye rolls. “And I was wondering if any of the other acts of Tom Foolery I’ve heard about are true.”

“They are! Don’t let them deny **anything**!” the Prince said as he passed them and folded up the map, their next location marked on it.

“I have been nothing more than an accessory and/or witness in a majority of their escapades.” Ana rolled her eyes so hard she thought they’d roll out of her head; and Ignis noticed. “You disagree, my dear?”

“I’ve gotten you to join me in a Pride Parade in full Drag, Iggy. Several times,” she deadpanned, smirking at the man as he choked on some of the produce they’d bought as a light snack. She could swear Prompto had stars in his eyes like a blond Steven Universe. “You may not have the rap sheet Gladdy and I do, but I got _plenty_ of stories about you – pictures, too!”

“Nice, babe! Got any you could share? I’d bet good Gil that Iggy looks great in a corset,” the Shield growled, throwing a wink Ignis’ way and making his face flare up.

“He does. The waistline a Morticia corset gives him is perfectly waspish,” Noct added, fist bumping Ana when the chef started to stutter indignantly.

“You will delete those photos immediately, young lady!” Ignis went to grab her arm, but the Dutchess dodged and instead laced their hands together as she walked backwards. To anyone else, they looked like woman teasing her boyfriend instead of a friend begging for some embarrassing photos to be deleted.

“And if I don’t?” The taunt was uttered through a cheeky smirk. Her voice dropped a few octaves but stayed playful as she leaned toward him, still walking backwards. “You gonna _punish me_ , Sir?”

“I just might. Don’t tempt me, Kitten.” Both of them ignored the exaggerated gag that came from the Crown Prince at the (literal) pet name. Anatolia’s smile turned feral when she felt his grip tighten around her fingers. “Give me your phone so I can delete them. Now.”

“Ya gotta catch me first, Iggy!”

Ana swore she could see steam come from his ears right before she tugged him forward, pressed a sloppy kiss on his cheek, and took off down one of the nearby alleys with a cackle. Ignis stumbled a moment before tearing after her, yelling obscenities as he went. For being almost a foot shorter than him, she lost no ground in the alley, and they disappeared around a corner a moment later.

“I take it back.”

“Whaddaya mean, Big Guy?”

“She does torment Ignis just as much as the rest of us,” he chuckled. “Come on. We’ll turn in Prompto’s photos to Vyv and grab something to eat while they play cat and mouse.”

At noon, the three men had set up a betting pool with Iris and Vyv over the chase that was seen all through Lestallum.

Every so often, one of them would charge out from some impossible spot looking for the other. Ana had that feral grin on her face each time, but Ignis was getting calmer and therefore was able to think more clearly as the day wore on. More than once, his hands had skimmed her skin or hair before she warped out of reach and it started all over again, but he was getting closer and it was making Ana try harder.

“I really want to know where she gets this energy from… It’s been three hours – OH, GOSH! ANA!” Iris gasped as Ana ran right off the roof of one of the buildings, warping mid-fall to land safely on the roof of the gas station. Ignis stopped at the edge of the rooftop, both of them studying each other for a moment before running off, Ana waiting for Ignis to move first.

Vyv shook his head. “I’m gonna have a heart attack just watching!”

“They’ve both been using Elixirs this whole time.” Noct added another Gil to the pot in the middle of the table, everyone following suit. “This pot better replace what they used.”

“I’m getting some good shots for the scrapbook, at least! Iggy’s gotten ridiculously close, but I’d love to see them in action in the alleys,” Prompto sighed as he looked toward the storefronts. “She does parkour, so there’s probably a bunch of great shots I’m missing - AH!”

Iris and Prompto shrieked as Ana landed hard on the table next to theirs, bounding off of it to disappear into the car park. Ignis zoomed by and followed her over the barricade and the group lunged to see the final showdown.

They were circling the Regalia and a couple other cars, the Advisor lunging with her whenever Ana feinted left or right. The redhead couldn’t stop the occasional giggle, high off of the adrenaline of a good chase, and was crouched to bolt at any time. Ignis couldn’t hide the smirk that split his face as his jade eyes reflected the fire in her own emerald orbs. They were both flushed and panting from their little game.

Both were disheveled. Ignis’ suspenders had come off at some point, now limp around his legs, and both of them had lost some form of order with their hair. Ignis had to flip his hair out of his eyes every now so often and Ana was currently taming her hair into a messy ponytail from where it had fallen around her face.

“Losing your edge in your old age, Darling?”

“Just waiting for the old Coeurl to finally make its move, is all. He keeps getting tangled in his own whiskers, poor thing~”

“I’ll show you an ‘old Coeurl!’” Ignis summoned his Polearm and used High Jump, surprising them all. Ana shrieked and pulled out her kukri to warp, but he landed close enough to grab the strap of the thigh holster bag just as she threw the weapon and growled, “Not this time!”

They both disappeared in a flurry of crystals and their audience watched with rapt attention as they reappeared back on their level, landing roughly in a tangle of limbs and rolling into a (thankfully) empty table. The woman immediately started moving around to get out of his hold, but Ignis’ suspenders had become tangled with her long legs. Ignis took a moment to get his bearings before grappling with his prey. He had never warped before and now understood why Ana liked to chew on mint leaves and gum so much; it sent your stomach roiling.

Ignis knocked the kukri away and Ana took that moment of minor distraction to hook a boot in one of his suspenders and extend her leg, almost pulling his pants down before the man just unhooked them from the front. Vyv added a handful of Gil to the pile. “Hundred on the Dutchess!”

The ash blond couldn’t keep her hands down and bit back a snarl. Choosing to be a Glaive instead of a Mage like a majority of the women who enlisted had made Ana strong. Her normal sparring partner had been Nyx Ulric, who had a similar build to Gladio, so it was no surprise that his larger mass didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest. She fought dirty, too.

 _Probably Crowe’s influence_ , Ignis mused as he leaned back and away when Ana snapped her teeth at his neck like a fiend. That allowed her to get an arm free and push her forearm against his long neck to keep the distance. Ana snapped again at his other arm when he moved to grab it and managed to get a good grip on his glove when he pulled away. “Temper, temper!”

The Dutchess managed to pull the glove off despite the awkward angle from her bite and dismissed it to the Arminger. She sighed that moved her whole and it reminded Ignis of a housecat. So did one of her legs fidgeting right before she got her other arm free from where it was trapped between their stomachs and tried to snatch his glasses off, only managing to leave them hanging off of one ear and horribly askew despite him catching her hand.

Noctis watched Ignis dismiss his glasses into the Arminger with a scoff and smirked. “Two on Specs!”

Ana planted her feet on the cobblestones and lifted her body and Ignis’ up with a growl. When Ignis pushed her hips down with both hands, the Glaive brought her right arm to his right shoulder and pushed to the right. Ignis went down and Ana swung around so she was straddling his back, holding one of his arms behind his back. She had fisted a hand in his hair to stop his face from hitting the cobblestones, but gave a wide smirk when a playful tug returned a soft groan.

“My, my! That is definitely something I want to explore later, Iggy!” Ana said softly into his ear, noticing how red it was getting along with his face. “It’s okay to like getting your hair pulled – I know I do~”

“Careful, Kitten…” A shiver ran up her back and to her scalp at the low octave Ignis’ voice had dropped to, but that was nothing compared to the thrill she got when he started pushing himself up with one harm. Ana was slack jawed just like their spectators, barely keeping her balance, when Ignis growled out, “Gladiolus isn’t the only one to have brute strength!”

Anatolia pulled them to the side once he’d straightened his arm and put Ignis into an arm bar, hissing when he bit her thigh in retaliation and frustration. She was just pushing her hips up to stress his shoulder and elbow when she heard her phone go off…

From its place in Gladio’s pocket.

“You haven’t had your bloody phone on you this entire time!?”

Anatolia didn’t get to answer before Ignis bit her thigh again in the same spot. She yelped and untangled herself and bounded over to the tallest member of their group while wiping off the spit from the rapidly bruising mark. Before she could grab it from Gladio’s hand, the ringing stopped, and she heard a voice she wasn’t sure she’d ever hear again.

“Hey, Queen! Nice to see the Empire’s propaganda was bullshit!”

Her jaw dropped and tears pooled in her eyes as she froze. Anatolia turned around and a gasp escaped her mouth.

“Libertus?”


	2. You are My Sunshine...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been over a month! I'm sorry!  
> CERBERUSES IS THE CORRECT PLURAL FOR CERBERUS, I CHECKED! DON’T @ ME!   
> Reminder, Anatolia means “sunrise."

Anatolia stared over the outlook in Lestallum feeling numb, leaning against Libertus as tears streaked down her face. He’d just gotten done filling her in on what had happened in the days leading up to the Fall, including his own betrayal and redemption.

At least two thirds of the Kingsglaive had turned traitor and sided with a radical group that had connections with the Empire. Her Glaives, who she considered brothers and sisters, had helped turn her home to ash and destroy her family.

Libertus was relieved she had asked the rest to complete their contracts while they caught up. He wasn’t sure any of them would understand why he’d joined the radicals, even though he’d helped Lunafreya escape.

“This is all so fucked up, Lib.”

“I know kid…” Libertus rubbed her shoulder as Ana took a shuddering breath. “I’d understand if you and your cousin want revenge, I deserve it.”

Ana shook her head, sniffing before blowing her nose on a spare napkin from the kabobs they’d ordered. “It won’t bring any of them or the Crystal back. ‘An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind’ and all that.”

“You sound just like Crowe,” he said with a fond smile.

“She would’ve beat wholesale ass if she witnessed you and Nyx waste your one brain cell.” Ana looked from the Meteor to her Galahdian brother. “She’d be proud of you, though. So would Nyx.”

“If you say so, kiddo.”

As silence rolled over them, Ana felt anger bubble in her gut despite her own words.

She’d fought tooth and nail for years with the Council to get higher wages and better benefits for the Kingsglaive. The Crownsguard got paid almost triple what the Glaives did while staying within the wall and dealt with internal threats. Their numbers were much higher than the Glaives, as well. Ana couldn’t remember when there had been more than fifty Kingsglaive at a time, but there were at least two hundred Crownsguard.

The Crownsguard had been a Secret Service of sorts that, Regis admitted, had gotten out of hand. Mostly individuals of Noble blood, they got everything extra for nothing. Custom made uniforms like the ones the Retinue wore, health care, pensions, retirement – none of that came from their paychecks.

The Kingsglaive had everything come from their pay. Damaged uniforms, medical bills, damages to the training area – they had to pay for it out of pocket. It made her sick and she’d ousted the corrupt Councilman who had been pushing for it a month before King Regis had sent them off.

“I should’ve stayed…” Libertus looked at the young woman and saw her shaking her head, biting her lip so hard it bled. Her knuckles were white in her lap. “If I had stayed, then maybe I could’ve worn the Ring and Nyx would be with Luna to keep her safe… I could’ve gotten into Tenebrae to get her in the first place, the Shiva Twins would’ve kept me safe and Crowe would be here.”

“Come on, ya can’t think like that, Ana. You don’t know that-” Ana threw off Libertus’ arm and flew to her feet, face red in anger.

“I know that the Lucii would’ve accepted me! I know that I could’ve at least slowed Glauca down!” The Dutchess started pacing like a caged animal, sparks of magic coming off her skin. Her voice cracked as it fell to a whisper and her hands fisted in her hair. “I could’ve fuckin’ done **something** , Lib!”

Libertus’ heart broke at seeing his adopted sister cry. He hobbled up without his crutches and wrapped her in his arms, petting her hair. The Galahdian could count on two hands the number of times he’d seen her and Crowe cry (one of them was due to various Disney movies, another was drunkenly crying over “…how pretty my friends are” on Ana’s part) and it was always jarring.

Ana could charge Cerberuses and Behemoths on the battlefield with the fury of the Infernian, taken on Magitek armor with just her gauntlets and kukri, bulldozed through various dæmons with a smirk. Sure, crying from a broken bone happened a few times, but this was unheard of. She hadn’t lost her home like the rest of the Glaive. Not until the Fall.

Now that he thought about it, her little group probably hadn’t had the time to even mourn what they’d lost. Between the Prince (“King,” he reminded himself) taking on every little “Quest” and hunt he could find and the Empire following them, they were always on the move. Ana had also gotten unfortunately good at hiding her emotions after some hazing from Tredd and a few other Glaives, so the fact that he was bearing the brunt of her breakdown made sense.

“Hey.” Libertus pushed Ana away to hold her at arm’s length, wiping the tears from her eyes and giving her his best smile. “How’s about we go get some braids in that hair, huh? Nyx, Crowe, and I had a set of beads for ya that we were planning on giving ya before ya left, but… Anyway, I got to go grab ‘em before I got out and there’s a great hair salon with a few Galahdian stylists that would make this mane pretty again!”

Ana sniffed and nodded, letting Libertus lead her into the alleys of Lestallum. He’d just given her a great opportunity to pull a Brittany and she was gonna take it.

Nothing fixes emotional trauma like a haircut, right?

After sending Libertus off with enough Gil to get him to Galahd, Ana waited for the Chocobros at the Leville. The left side of her head was shaved with an undercut to keep her hair off her neck and messy layers, much like Nyx had used to wear his, but kept the waist length of the rest. She had three braids on the right side with the onyx and silver beads from Libertus woven in them.

It made it look like she had a mohawk and she’d gotten more than a few looks on her way back. As long as she could fit it all into a ponytail or bun, she didn’t care. Didn’t care about her bloodshot eyes or blotchy face, either. If she was being honest, she was still a bit raw from learning exactly what happened in Insomnia. Telling Noctis was absolutely out of the question except essentials, like Druatos and that Lunafreya was safe. He had enough on his veggie-free plate.

Plan A had been to get drunk before the boys got back and deal with Mama Ignis and his disappointment in the morning. The wrath of Gladdy Daddy, too, since Iris didn’t want her to drink alone. Some light and fruity drinks hadn’t hurt the youngest Amicitia and she was currently in her own bed, sound asleep.

Plan A had been foiled by the Marshall.

Cor had called Anatolia shortly after she’d tucked Iris into bed. He had a job for her back in Insomnia – or what was left of it. She was to leave at first light to scout around the Citadel alone.

Now, she sat at the lookout watching the sunrise. Ana hadn’t slept a wink since Cor had debriefed her, but the Shiva Twins would keep her safe on the long drive.

Noctis had pouted when she told him she had to go a few hours ago when the boys had arrived home, Gladio and Ignis had started packing the Shivas’ saddlebags with supplies, and Prompto had fitted her body light with a GoPro he’d just bought.

_“It’s separate from the light, just turn it on when you get into the city! I’ll get a notification and it’ll be like a livestream for just us!”_

_“That’s not creepy at all, Sunshine.”_

_“If you wanted a private show, all you had to do was ask~”_

_“That’s NOT what it’s for!”_

Ana swore the blush went all the way down to his biceps. Poor man, he’s just so easy to fluster. She had no idea why he said he struck out with the lads and ladies – except for being attracted to people who were married to their work. He had so much love to give others and deserved to get the same back from someone special.

Ana flinched at the sound of a shutter and turned to see the ray of personified Sunshine himself getting up from a crouch. Wordlessly, he walked over and showed her the photo and her lips parted in a soft gasp.

Prompto had gotten a low three quarter perspective shot of her leaning against the Shiva Bike with her head turned toward the sun that had her surrounded in the soft morning light. Some flyaway hairs made it look like she had a halo of light and the shadows cast by her bike friendly Crownsguard uniform accentuated the shafts of light. Her actual body and the bike were almost black with the contrast, but Prompto had somehow found an angle that had light hitting her eyes, making them stand out like Pyreflies.

“You need to tell me which Astral you sold your soul to in order to take photos like this. It’s beautiful.”

“Yeah, well… It helps when the subject is beautiful, too.” Ana felt a light blush bloom across her cheeks and nudged the blond’s shoulder. She noticed the blush that flooded over his fair skin, but Prompto circled the motorcycle and started taking snapshots of them despite it. “So… this is the Eidolon? A Messenger of Shiva? I thought they had to be, ya know, living?”

“ **They** are sisters of Shiva,” she said while tapping where the Twins’ faces were by the handle bars and behind the seat. “This is their vehicle mode, but I assure you, they are alive, Prom.” Prompto took a few more shots of them before Ana felt a bit of cool air come off the bike and curl around her hand. “Wanna meet them?”

“Wha- Really? You can wake them up?”

“They’re already awake, silly boy, and they want to meet you~” Ana pat the seat and stood away from the bike, pulling Prompto a few paces away. “Alright, ladies. Say hello!”

A blast of cold air covered the normally sweltering Outlook in frost as the Twins untangled themselves, making Prompto shiver in his maroon top and Ana zip up her bike jacket. They skated around the two on an ever thickening layer of ice that never reached the humans’ boots, large but delicate looking hands occasionally touching them briefly. When they settled to stand where they’d parking as the bike, steam rising from their bodies from the heat, Prompto could’ve put Steven Universe to shame with the stars in his eyes.

“GIANT WOMEN!” Ana snorted and the Twins giggled at his outburst. She’d made them watch Steven Universe; they understood that reference. “How tall are they? Can I take their pictures!?”

Nyx motioned between her navel and the top of Prompto’s head with a level hand. Stiria made a motion at the hair he’d styled up and tapped the bottom of her sister’s ribcage. The Twins giggled again as they frosted the tips of his hair, enamored with the sweet man and his attentions.

“About ten feet, give or take, and ask them!”

Prompto let out a whoop when they nodded. The Twins even posed for him without being told, making a rapid fire of the camera shutter break out. They dragged Anatolia into it a few times, pouting when she refused to take off her leather jacket until Prompto gave her his best puppy eyes impression, but then Ana sat at a table that had either escaped the frost or not been hit by it. After he showed them the best shots of them he’d gotten, the Twins kissed his cheeks and reverted back into the Eidolon motorcycle.

“If you like Nyx and Stiria, you’ll love Bahamut.”

Prompto almost fumbled his camera, the strap around his neck being the only thing to save it, when he stumbled into the chair next to her. “Wait! You can summon **Bahamut**!?”

Ana shrugged as she tied off her hair into a few braids. “Not the actual Bahamut; one of his first High Priests was so loyal to Bahamut and his Message, that He gave him his own Astral form. He’s been around so long, everyone has forgotten his name, so anyone who summons him just calls him Bahamut.”

“Whoa… He must be ancient, then.”

“Older than the Astral War, at least.”

The two sat in silence while the sun slowly crawled over the walls around the Disc, the steam from the thawing ice the Twins had laid down giving the Overlook an ethereal feel. Prompto fidgeted a bit before shifting a little closer to Ana, who leaned a bit against him and he settled. He was a little spooked.

“So I know this is a dumb question –”

“The only dumb questions come from Noct.”

The gunman giggled and shoved her shoulder while she smirked at her own joke. “You and Ignis only had to explain that a uvula wasn’t what made someone a girl once, Ana, but no. This really is kind of a dumb question, though…”

Seeing how tense he was and not appreciating the slight self-deprecating humor, Ana walked in front of him and took his bare hand in her own, squeezing it and bringing it over her heart in a comforting gesture. The blond sighed but didn’t look up at her and squeezed back before finishing his thought.

“You… You’re gonna come back, right? Like… This isn’t a suicide mission into Empire territory?”

“…Do I look like Nyx Ulric, Sunshine?”

“With the new ‘do, Senpai? Yeah, kinda. All you need is the tattoos,” he said with a crooked smile that didn’t reach his watery violet eyes.

He hadn’t called her Senpai in _years_ , not since Cor had taken her recommendation of him for Crownsguard seriously, and it set off red flags. “You really think I’m not gonna come back…”

Ana gently took his camera out of Prompto’s other hand and set it on the table, nudging his legs apart to stand between them and pull him into a hug. Prompto’s arms wrapped around her back and thighs, holding her tight while she ran her hands through his hair and he buried his face in her stomach with a quiet sniffle. They stayed like that, Ana swaying them a bit, until Prompto pulled back and grimaced at the mess he’d left on her leather jacket with a choked up “sorry.” Ana paid no mind, crouching between his legs and taking both of his hands into hers.

“Need you to look at me, Sunshine.” It took a few moments, but Prompto did turn to look at her and her heart broke a bit at the look of fear there. “I know you think that you don’t belong with us, you have some serious Imposter Syndrome going on, but you absolutely do. That being said, no, I’m not taking this mission just to get away from you all…

“I’m doing this because there have been sightings of Uncle Regis and Captain Clarus around the Citadel.”

Prompto felt like he’d been punched in the chest and he choked on a gasp. “T-that’s… That’s impossible! You saw the pictures from the news! Clarus – he was impaled with his own sword! Into the wall! And all the blood around King Regis-!”

“I know. I know…” Ana looked toward the sun, noticing that it was touching the spires of the Meteor now. She had to go soon. “Cor believes that with my additional abilities with Magic, I’ll be able to tell if they’re genuine or dæmons created by the Empire.”

Prompto nodded while looking down at their hands. Hers were more calloused than even Gladio’s in some spots, but the skin was still soft under his touch. Always had been; ever since she’d started training him in Primary School after finding him eating only negative calorie foods and only running for weeks on end. A lecture he now remembered fondly but was absolutely terrified of at the time.

Ana pulled Prompto to his feet and into another hug, where he once again buried into her. The scent of green apples and bonfire flooded his senses and calmed him down a bit while her hands rubbed his back. She took a deep breath and smiled against his shoulder when she smelt Old Spice, gun powder, and leather.

“I’m probably gonna be gone for a week, might not be able to call or text much if at all while I’m in Insomnia.” She kissed his shoulder and squeezed him a little tighter. “You need to keep them all smiling for me, don’t let them worry.”

Prompto nodded against the top of her head and stepped back a moment later, lavender irises standing out against red sclera and cheeks blotchy from crying. But he said with a smile and Kingsglaive salute, “You can count on me, Senpai!”

“That’s my Sunshine!”

Ana swung her leg over the Eidolons and pulled her helmet on. With a short wave and a wink, she was gone in a small snow flurry. Prompto bit his cuticles until she disappeared into the tunnel before he made his way back to the Leville, humming under his breath and looking through all the shots he’d taken with them.

_“You make me happy when skies are gray. You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you…”_ Stopping, he ran his thumb over the photo of Anatolia and the transformed Eidolons outlined in sunrays. She looked like an Astral herself and it made his heart ache. “Please don’t take our sunshine away…”

Cor was silent as the Dutchess pulled up to his location on a large pile of rubble inside the Wall several hours later. He watched Nyx and Stiria disengage and disappear in a small flurry of snowflakes, her whole demeanor was as cold as the Glacian herself as she marched up to stand next to him to survey the ravaged city. The tears came but they didn’t fall and it rubbed him the wrong way.

_She’s compartmentalizing,_ he reminded himself. _It’s the first thing Glaives learn to do so they aren’t distracted._

“You’re early, my Lady.”

“You’re my superior here, Marshal, not the other way around.” Emerald eyes scanned the ruined streets with barely contained heartache. “They really did a number on us, didn’t they?”

“Most of the buildings are actually Ulric’s fault for awakening the Old Wall, though it served the greater good and caused no further loss of life.” He followed her gaze to where the remains of the Rogue Queen laid. “This district and all around the ones immediately surrounding the Citadel were already evacuated.”

“Small blessings, then. Have we recovered a body?”

“No. Just Glauca’s and one of Ulric’s kukris.” Cor unwrapped a small bundle he’d pulled from his coat, revealing one of Nyx’s blades.

“The Lucii took him, then…” Ana took it in her hand, running a hand over it reverently before dismissing it into the Arminger to be with the twin Libertus had given her. “When we rebuild, I’ll have to make Noctis build a statue for him. Just because I know he’d hate it.”

“It’s rude to make fun of a dead man, Captain,” he replied with a smirk.

“It’d be rude not to laugh in his memory, Marshal.”

“True…” Cor looked at her out of the corner of his eye. She was tense. “Are you ready? This won’t be easy for you, I know…”

Anatolia took breath that rattled her smaller frame and Cor realized how thin she was spread. “I’d rather find their bodies and perform a Sending than leave them where the Empire can find them…”

"Alright. Let me escort you to the Citadel, then. You know it better than I do, so it shouldn't take you long..."

"Turns out, Cor was a dirty liar," Ana snarled to the recording GoPro on her hip. "This floor is so fucked from that radical group's bombs and Niflheim's attack that I can't even get a Gods damned door open!"

The sun had set about an hour ago and she was still combing through the wreckage of her home. Thankfully, dæmons didn't spawn inside the Citadel. Why? She couldn't tell you, but any gratitude she felt was trumped by the absolute annoyance that was Cor's directive of "start from the bottom and work your way up."

Anatolia had found where her uncle's body had supposedly been in the secret room that led to the garage - how that Lucii statue hadn't caved in the structure, she's sure not even Ignis could figure out, and she's found where Clarus had been pinned to the wall in the Council room where the signing was supposed to take place over a month ago. The blood on the walls and floors had been filled to brown from the age of it, but that didn't supress the horror she'd felt when she saw them.

Or the drag marks and droplets leading from them to the elevator.

Due to that clue alone, Ana had to check every floor the elevator stopped on to see where the trail left. She didn't trust the machine in the building's current state, so she took the stairs.

A decision she was currently cursing as she used her legs to push a piece of rubble out of the way of a door her back was braced on. Her legs were used to conditioned to have stamina and strength due to her training in the Kingsglaive, but one hundred flights of stairs was pushing it and her calves, thighs, and glutes where screaming.

"I'm going to bring back... Ritual Sacrifice... just to put Cor Leonis' head... On a fucking pike- ACK!" Ana yelped when the door suddenly swung inward and her back slammed into the floor. Groaning and cursing the Immortal, she got up and hobbled down the hallway. "I am getting too old for this shit."

Ana recognized the hall after a few steps in, when the pain in her spine was down to a full roar. It was the living quarters for the Royal Family. Her family. She's stayed here until about two years ago when Noctis graduated, but she still stayed in the Citadel regularly to have weekly dinner with her uncle and Ignis - who seemed to never leave unless it was to update Noct on the goings on of his own damn kingdom.

Regis had said he needed more supervision and, honestly, leaving the two of them alone to adult was a horrible decision, really. Especially when she was deployed and could get on him to take is fucking trash out.

It was surreal to know that just beyond the doorway behind her that the building was almost beyond repair, but in front of her was almost untouched. Just some dust and small pieces of debris.

And light coming from under the door to King Regis' door at the end of the hall.


	3. Long Live the Lucii

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ana investigates the Citadel for ghosts and gets drunk in Hammerhead while she plans how to spit in Bahamut's face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoe. Lee. She. It.  
> I'm so sorry it took me this long to update!  
> The irl drama is finally over and I've started my own line of wax melts in a friend's crystal shop!  
> Life has been a fucking mess...  
> SO HAVE A MONSTER CHAPTER FOR MY SINS!

Anatolia felt a cold sweat break out over her skin as she neared the black oak double doors of her uncle’s chambers. Her hooded visor with Dread Behemoth styled horns and the face mask of her Kingsglaive attire was stifling, her heartbeat drummed in her ears, and she had to fight to stop her body from trembling. Shadows moved across the thin strip of light and Ana stopped her approach, crouching like a Coeurl and wound tighter than a spring.

It wasn’t unheard of for daemons to find one spot to make a nest and protect it; even the more intelligent ones like Yojimbo. The location Regis’ room was ideal, too.

The kukris handles were warm in her hands when she summoned them and Ana noted that one had a purple Chocobo charm on it now. She absently thought to thank Gladio for helping Prompto pick that one, only he knew her favorite color, as she crept closer to the door.

She cast a quick Protect around herself and waited. Once the shadows had moved away to the left of the doorway, the Dutchess blasted one of the doors off its hinges with a Blizzara and leapt into the room under the cover of snow. Hearing heavy footfalls and a battle cry rushing up behind her, Ana dropped to the ground while pivoting on her feet. On her back, she planted her feet on her would-be assailant’s chest and sent them flying over her and into a desk, if the heavy sound of a body hitting hardwood and a weapon hitting the marble floor was any indication, and popped back up to her feet with kukris still in hand.

“This is a quarantined zone and you are trespassing in the chambers of the late King Regis! Drop your weapons and state your business or lethal force will be used!” The power and authority Anatolia’s voice exuded was flawless, despite her anxiety. Groans of pain, the shuffling of heavy fabric, and the light tinkling of jewelry reached her ears for a few moments without an answer before she lost her patience. “In the name of King Noctis Lucis Caelum, you **WILL** state your business or face lethal force!”

“Ana? Anatolia?” The amount of adrenaline already flooding her system skyrocketed when the male voice reached her ears. Tremors started in her hands, but she adjusted her grip on the blades to hide it. A shock like a Thunder spell raced along her spine as a weathered, familiar face stood in front of her crumpled assailant. “It’s me, Ana. It’s Regis.”

“Prove it.” Ana could’ve slapped herself with how fast the words came out of her mouth.

_“Hello, Darkness, my old friend. I’ve come to talk with you again.”_

Her eyes snapped to ‘Clarus’ when he moved to sit up against the desk. _“Because a vision softly creeping… left its seeds while I was sleeping.”_

 _“And the vision that was planted in my brain… Still remains…”_ She lowered her hands, which were shaking with her voice as she joined them in her old lullaby

_“Within the sound… of Silence…”_

The echo of the odd harmony travelled through the hall and back as the Glaive dismissed her brother’s blades and all but threw herself into her Uncles’ arms, hood thankfully falling back. No one said a word as they were all relieved of the pressure of doubt in their chests.

If Ana’s alive, the boys are, as well. The rest of the Retinue is as safe as they can be with her by their side and she left them somewhere safe. Both men knew she’d sooner sacrifice herself than let a single hair on the boys’ heads get split.

“There was so much blood downstairs… And the photos! We were so sure that you two were gone!” Ana held Regis tightly, burying her face into his chest.

“So were we. Especially after you **yote** me across the room.”

“Clarus!”

Ana gave a watery chuckle at Regis’ admonishing tone, leaning back and wiping her nose on a conveniently placed handkerchief in her pocket. “Thanks, Ignis,” she said while walking over to the Shield with hands glowing in a white light. “Let me heal you, Uncle Clarus.”

“You can’t blame her for doing her job.”

“Assaulting old men is part of her job?” Clarus hissed while her hands pushed the magic into his body, just to sigh and relax a moment later. Ana helped pull him to his feet with a small grunt. “Thank you, my dear.”

“Alright, enough. Both of you.” Ana pulled out her phone, noting the literal dozens of messages from the boys before dismissing them. “How did this happen? Not that I’m not happy, but… You were pinned to the wall like a butterfly and Uncle Regis – there was so much blood…”

Clarus shrugged, looking more like his son than he knew. “Bahamut’s grace, if I had to guess.”

“Oh, puh-leeze.” Ana scoffed. “Bahamut only cares about his precious Prophecy. He can suck off a Behemoth.”

“Lovely to see our pseudo death hasn’t changed you at all, my dear,” Regis said dryly. “Are you here to escort us out?”

Ana straightened up, back to all business. “Yes. The Marshall has been watching my progress and will be at our rendezvous point shortly. I’ll use my Eidolons to get us all out safely.”

Clarus and Regis shared a look. “We can’t all fit on the bike.”

Ana smirked as they made their way to the (surprisingly) working elevator. “Nope.”

“When I asked if they were secure, that also meant no more deaths, Caelum.”

“They’re fine, just… shell shocked?”

Clarus all but scrambled off the mechanical Eidolon, Bahamut, before helping Regis down. It revved a few times before fading into a burst of Pyreflies. Both men looked at the Pyreflies before addressing Cor. Ana didn’t get off of her bike.

“Anatolia?” Regis reached out and she gently took his hand in hers. “You are not staying.”

“No. I’m not.” She shook her head sadly, settling back into her seat. “Noctis needs me and I need to beat the sun before I get to Hammerhead.”

Regis nodded, eyes that reminded Ana of an ancient forest misting over. She squeezed his hand in her own in comfort. “I understand. Our duty to the Chosen King of Light comes first.”

“I leave the Father King in your capable hands, Captains Amicitia and Leonis.”

Both older men bowed to the Dutchess. “I made the mistake of trusting His Majesty’s safety to a snake. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“See that you don’t, Marshall.” Ana didn’t hide the magenta flash in her eyes when she hugged both Regis and Clarus before putting on her helmet. She whispered something in her uncle’s ear before righting herself in her seat. “Fill them in on our progress and maybe get them phones when you get to Hammerhead. The kids are anxious.”

“Walk tall, my dear,” Regis said, bowing to her with Clarus following suit. She nodded behind her visor before heading out of the ruined city in blizzard of ice, getting the attention of some MTs and drawing them away.

The Cure for Insomnia would have to wait.

“So… Reggie’s alright?” Cid dropped a Catoblepas steak and a large batch of fries in front of the Glaive, sitting with her at the Caravan table. “How’s that possible?”

“I don’t fucking know, but I did tell him to visit you. No regrets when he dies for good.”

“Shoot, and I thought Pawpaw was dry with his humor!”

Ana tipped back dangerously far in her chair to see Cindy walk to the Caravan. She almost would’ve fallen back if the blonde hadn’t grabbed the chair just in time. Tutting at the amount of pomegranate wine missing from the bottle on the table, Cindy propped her back upright and took a seat herself.

“Yer a bad influence, Pawpaw!”

“Blame Ignis for this one. Went wine tastin’ in Lestallum an’ left it in the Arminger fo’ me today,” Ana said, pouring a little bit in a solo cup for Cindy when she looked interested. “Better than the whiskey I had the other night.”

“Tha’s cuz you mixed it with Scotch, young’un.”

Ana waved off Cid’s comment and dug into her steak, courtesy of Taka. Medium rare, barely, just how she liked.

“Yer sure they’re not Magitek or Daemons, girl?”

“Last I checked, no one knew my preferred lullaby besides my Uncle and his retinue, Cid.”

The old man snorted. “Reggie and Clarus sang _The Sound of Silence_?”

“Unchle Clarush, too.”

“Don’t talk with ya mouth full, sugar.”

Cid huffed a laugh as he lit a cigarette and adjusted his cap. “I remember when we would sing that in the Regalia on our own trip for the Royal Arms. Mago sounded like a dying Coeurl!”

“You sound like a dyin’ Behemoth, Pawpaw!”

The three laughed until a ringtone filled the air. Ana stood up, jumping into the caravan and grabbing her phone as it blasted the Chocobo song. Cindy and Cid laughed when they heard her trip over a boot and fall to the floor, the whole caravan rocking.

“Ow…” Ana whined, rubbing her hip, already anticipating the Gods awful bruise, before answering. “Hello, Insomnia morgue. You kill ‘em, we chill ‘em. How can I help you?”

_“YOU ABSOLUTE BRAT!”_

“Hi, Daddy~”

 _“Don’t be cute with me, Anatolia!”_ There was silence from the Shield as Ana stumbled from the Caravan, Cindy having to catch her and help her back into her chair. _“Are you drunk?”_

“No– ” Ana smacked Cindy when she crowed a YES into the receiver. The Glaive shoved the blonde’s hat bill down and held it over her face, muffling her giggles. “Maybe. A firm maybe.”

_“For fuck’s sake. You don’t answer our calls when you got into the Citadel, you don’t answer them once you found my dad and the King, now you’re getting drunk?”_

“First, I don’t have to explain my coping mechanisms to you, **Little Shield** ,” Ana snapped, voice mirroring Cor’s in an instant despite her current inebriated state. To make her point, she took another long draw from the wine bottle, licking her lips after and passing it to Cindy. “Second, do you think I’m fuckin’ stupid? Niflheim can remotely control MTs and hamper our Magic – I’ve been watching it for eleven years, now – and you think I’d even leave my phone’s location and data on so they could track any incoming or outgoing signals?”

The line was silent besides some shuffling and the muted sound of Iris’ chastising voice in the background, so Ana knew she was on speaker.

“Didn’t think of that didja, **Little Shield**? You seem to forget that I’ve been fighting the Empire for almost half of my life – more than half of all four a’ yours!” she spat.

 _“Right… Sorry. It’s just…”_ The sigh the Behemoth of a man exhaled carried the weight of the Meteor on Titan’s shoulders and the sound lowered the red-head’s anger from a boil to a simmer. _“We were all worried. Seeing the state of the city, the Daemons and MTs, His Majesty and my dad being alive. It… It’s a lot.”_

“If he cried, you have my permission as Captain of the Kingsglaive to punch Princess.” Ana smirked when a deep thud sounded and her cousin’s yelp immediately followed through the speaker and the last of the tension finally melted from her shoulders. “Yea, it was a lot. Despite being ground zero for where the fighting began, the Citadel is oddly untouched.”

_“We noticed. Any idea why?”_

“Probably has to do with the fact that Nyx activated the Old Wall.” Ana took the dainty bite of her Catoblepas steak Cindy offered on a fork, giving her a dirty look for the small portion. “Those statues of the Kings of the Lucii fought off Daemons half the size of the Citadel while keeping most of the damage localized to the upper class areas around it.”

_“Think he did it to make us royals pay for our own repairs?”_

“While I don’t think it was intentional since he was fighting Glauca, I could see it.” Ana conjured a flame into her palm, something she’d copied from Nyx years ago when she’d first joined the Glaive. “No sign of Lunafreya, but Pryna’s been stalking me since I got to Hammerhead, so I imagine she’s fine.”

 _“Empire propaganda at its finest – Prompto! What the fuck - !”_ Static took over the call before they all heard Prompto squeal, _“TINY!”_ before Gladio wrestled the phone back and presumably held it above his head.

While Gladio kept the phone from the blond, the Glaive grabbed one of her fries and offered the treat to the fluffy Shiba Inu that appeared at her feet at the mention of her name. They ignored the screeching of Prompto demanding to talk to Tiny as Pryna jumped onto Ana’s lap and bowed her head at the mechanics in greeting.

“Pretty cute… Fer a rat.” Both women gave Cid a dirty look at the rib to Pryna’s size, said Messenger not seeming the least bit bothered as she was fed a piece of steak. “What? I’ve seen house cats bigger ‘n her!”

_“Prompto is about to throw hands over this dog, so I’m gonna letcha go, Babe. What time will ya be back tomorrow?”_

Pulling her phone away from her face to check the time, she shrugged. “Honestly, I’m prolly not gonna sleep unless Cid beams me with a wrench, so anytime between ten in the morning and three in the afternoon?”

_“What? … Iggy says he put some of that knockout tea you like in the Arminger and to drink it **after** you’ve eaten a full meal so it doesn’t mess with the wine you’re drinking.”_

“Tell Momma Ignis that I do what I want… But thank you. Night, love y’all.”

_“Love you, too!”_

Cid’s face scrunched at the phone crackling when the men literally screamed their affections across the line, but didn’t say anything as Ana put it away. Couldn’t say that he, Reggie, Clarus, and Mago were much better back in their day. These kids were odd, for sure, but they were good people.

He did not expect the Advisor to participate in the speaker shattering screech, but that Tenebrean accent was hard to hide. Honestly, he didn’t think the young man had it in him to be anything but polite.

Now that he thought about it, the whole Retinue of Light was different than he thought.

Noctis was more socially awkward than his father was when they journeyed for the Royal Arms (which was saying something since Reggie had managed to explode the entire Dairy section of a gas station with a nervous flare of Magick when a woman had flirted with him), but he never hesitated to lend a hand if he could. Very different from how most folks from behind The Wall acted.

The Shield definitely looked like his father, but was definitely feeling a bit overwhelmed from being suddenly thrown into the outside world and the dangers of the war with Niflheim. Cid could not for the life of him figure out why the boy went around half dressed, though he couldn’t say much when Cindy was adamant about her own uniform…

Argentum reminded him of a stray puppy more often than not. The way he trailed after the others and the self-deprecating jokes told him the blond didn’t realize how much he meant to the other four; no matter how many times Anatolia punched him for said jokes.

The Dutchess was the real mystery. He’d heard on the news of how she could handle political meetings of the highest caliber, but learning she had _chosen_ (read as begged) to join the Kingsglaive and on fight the front lines instead of the safe position of Mage? Was a rare thing to see a Royal fight their own battles, but he supposed she got that from Reggie since her father up and left before the pregnancy was even an idea.

Anatolia’s mastery of Grand Magick and Summoning, an art lost to the Kings of Lucis about a millennia ago, was another thing. Regularly summoning the spirits of the Astrals’ High Priests and Priestesses in battle, taking most of a Niff base down alone before she met up with the boys – it was hard to believe the woman of her breeding didn’t mind getting her hands dirty until he saw it with his own eyes a few years back.

 _Reggie did good with them kids,_ he mused, lighting up a cigarette. _Guess things are different when you have no secrets between fellow misfits, don’t need any masks._

The wine haired woman finished up her dinner with Pryna lounging on her lap and Cindy begging for a look at her motorcycle, which was agreed to after an approving rumble from the Eidolons’ engines. Ana knew they’d keep the blonde up all night, but they didn’t need sleep and Cindy seemed to thrive on the smell of motor oil and metal.

“Girls night in, Pryna!” Ana said as she changed into a tank and shorts for bed before literally diving into the bed face first. Pryna yipped softly and joined her, snuggling into her side once she was under the covers with a content huff.

Ana curled around the white Shiba and took a selfie of them to send in the Retinue’s group chat before setting it on silent, not wanting to deal with the meltdown she knew she’d just caused Prompto. She caught one message of “Ana stole ur bitch Prom >:-}” from Gladio before she closed it.

Oh, she loved starting shit with the boys.

Playing a few games on her phone with Pryna by her side, the Glaive enjoyed not having to share it with anyone. She loved the youngest two, she really did, but she’d rather deal with Ignis’ eerily still (corpse-like) sleeping posture or Gladio’s random Behemoth snore that sounded like cannon fire than being sandwiched between those two.

Even when she fell asleep on the outside of the bed, she’d wake up in the middle of a Promtis pretzel. Once, Prom’s hand had gotten tangled in her hair thanks to his damn bracelet and Ignis had to use a kebab stick to untangle it. Another, both boys had laid on top of her back when she slept on her stomach and Gladio had to pry them off while Ignis replaced her body with pillows.

Again, she loved them, but not their Marboro-esque cuddling.

“How’s Luna been, girl?”

Pryna looked up at her with sad eyes, ears drooping slightly.

“Yea… Me, too…” Ana scratched behind the dog’s ears lightly. “She’s strong, though. They both are… They’ll make it.”

Pryna whined and pressed her face against the woman’s chest, resting so her ear was right over her heart. Said heart broke at the sight.

Ana knew more about the Chosen King of Light and the Oracle than most, thanks to the blessings of Ifrit. Their fates were not kind, their journey was beyond difficult, and the sacrifices they’d have to make outweighed what Eos gained return, in her opinion.

Noct and Luna barely had the chance to live, to love, before they were to walk themselves to the slaughterhouse.

“I know, I know…” Ana sniffed, putting her glasses on the side table and wiping a tear from her eye. She plugged her phone in, turned the light off, and wrapped an arm around the snowy Messenger as the tiny body started to shake. “You know me, though. I’ll fist fight the Astrals myself before I accept the Prophecy.”

The two laid in the dark and sought comfort from each other, Ana’s fingers running soothingly through Pryna’s cool coat, as the woman ruminated on the oddity that was her life and relationship to the catastrophes that were the Astrals.

Ifrit sometimes gave her visions from his tortured slumber, the first happening the same day the Crystal told Regis of his son’s role… It was **N O T** a child friendly one.

_Four Ragged Angels, blessed in the light of Goddess Star, Eos, above the land writhing in the Darkness of the Starscourge, the Adagium, and its Daemons; one with bleeding eyes, one carrying a sword, another with their tongue ripped out, the last with a burning crown upon his brow. Another Angel, eyes glowing red, hovered behind the Goddess Star with their great wings outstretched to surround the rest as a Guardian._

_One by one, the Six blessed the Burning King and his Ancestors bequeathed him with their Glaives. After the last, the Ragged Angels descend to engage the Daemons in War, despite the overwhelming odds. The Guardian would eventually join them when hope seemed lost and the tide would turn in their favor, only for the Goddess Star to be struck down and the Burning One to disappear with Bahamut, leaving the Guardian and his Comrades to fight the Daemons alone._

_Ifrit came to give the Guardian their own light to lead the remaining Angels in the Darkness, but they all eventually went their own ways to help the people of the Eos._

_Eventually, the Burning One returned, the Angels convened, and they fought to clear a path to a throne. Her Uncle’s throne. His Ancestors’ Glaives pierced his chest and he faded to the Realm Beyond. There, he defeated the Adagium, and Eos shone again._

The Burning One looked exactly like Noctis and the Gore was not spared for her young mind.

The “nightmare” had left her paranoid and aggressive for weeks and the ten year old had attacked literally _anyone_ she did not know that got anywhere near Noctis. She could only hit and kick their shins at the time, but the feral goblin of a Royal child was not to be underestimated.

Especially when she had a tantrum in the Council chambers when a Council member had demanded her and Noctis be taken away from Regis’ side as they were distracting the King from important matters. The adults had escalated into a screaming match, so she reacted defensively when the Councilman had dared to get into King Regis’ personal space. Closer to Noctis.

_A. Threat._

In her panic, Anatolia ended up casting Thundaga in the enclosed space while also casting Protect around her family and Clarus, screaming at the top of her lungs the entire time. The stained glass window that had withstood the test of time since King Somnus had been blown out, the long table was splintered into thousands of pieces, and a few people were injured. Ana herself had blacked out, but was fine besides feeling extremely hungry when she awoke much to her cousin’s relief.

The attack on Noctis and the invasion on Tenebrae had similar results.

That’s when Clarus had seen fit to suggest she train with Mages of the Kingsglaive and she first met Crowe, Libertus, and Nyx. A few years later, she started joining them in physical drills. Then she was officially enlisted when she graduated school at seventeen. The Dutchess outright fought Druatos when he tried to make her a Mage to keep her from harm. She wanted to fight the Empire from the frontlines and after barely besting the Captain in combat, he agreed.

The real reason was that there was no way on Eos’ green earth she was wearing a cropped jacket, heels, and a bloody strappy halter leather romper into battle. Finding a place to piss on the battlefield was hard enough, no way in Hell was she going to get stark, raving naked to use a latrine. A few of the men did that for shits and giggles already, she wasn’t going to deal with Tredd Furyia’s bullshit if she did it.

She’d sell out her Kingdom first and that was a fucking fact.

Ana didn’t get deployed as much as the rest of the Kingsglaive due to her political status, but when she wasn’t, she took it upon herself to test anyone that was supposed to join Noctis’ Retinue and her Uncle had agreed. To officially join the Crownsguard and swear loyalty to the Prince, you had to last half an hour in battle with Anatolia. Real weapons, no limit on her Magick use, she just couldn’t kill them.

The three other members would beg to differ on the last point as they’d had to be extensively healed by herself at the end, but they’re still alive either way.

More visions were “gifted” to her by the Infernian over the years, each one revealing the identity of the Angels, Goddess of Eos and the burdens they’d have to bear.

Pryna also started visiting her at the behest of Lunafreya and Gentiana after the Empire invaded Tenebrae. Instead of stickers, though, Ana would send back pressed flowers and Polaroid photos in the little green journal. Her favorites to send were, of course, the most unattractive photos of Noct that she could find.

She was pretty sure he didn’t know about it as he’d never mentioned it, and boy she knew he’d go feral if he knew about it, but she had to embarrass him in front of his beloved and she had an entire slideshow planned for when he was actually married to Luna.

All they had to do was defeat the Empire.

And the Adagium.

And purge Ifrit of the Starscourge.

Without losing Lunafreya or Noctis.

Ana pinched the bridge of her nose and groaned. Just the thought of what she had to do in order to break Bahamut’s bullshit solution gave her a headache, but it would be worth it. Her family was worth it.

Pryna finally put her head down on Ana’s bicep to settle into sleep. The woman settled more onto her side and tucked her other arm under her pillow, looking at the full moon through the slats of the blinds.

“I **will** find a different solution to purge Eos of Darkness’ Blight. Bahamut only made their Prophecy after fucking up the first one and creating the Adagium…” The woman sighed and snuggled down into the blankets, careful not to jostle her furry companion. “After all, what is a God to a non-believer, Pryna?”

The Dutchess of Duscae, Anatolia Lucis Caelum, was absolutely a devout believer of the Astrals.

She just didn’t trust Bahamut as far as she could throw the pointy bitch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions, comments, concerns?  
> ......  
> Emotional outbursts?

**Author's Note:**

> If you are reading this anywhere other than AO3, it was stolen and reposted without my permission and I do not want it on that platform.  
> You can follow my Tumblr here at [Alastor's Bambi](https://alastors-bambi.tumblr.com/).  
>  **I do not support the app Fanfic Pocket Archive.**


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